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EBRD Provides €15.5m For Ukranian Biomass
Biogasenergo, a subsidiary of EIG Engineering, is developing the plant – which should be operational by mid-2014. The implementation of the project is the beginning of a large-scale investment programme by EIG Engineering whereby it plans to develop up to five similar biomass plants with an aggregate installed capacity of 50MW. Technical assistance as well as regulatory and environmental assessment will be funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF). Continue reading
Monsanto Buys The Climate Corporation, Brings Big Data to Agriculture
October 4, 2013 Monsanto has bought the Climate Corporation for about $930 million in an effort to help farmers use big data to produce more crops while using fewer natural resources, the agribusiness company says. The Climate Corporation’s technology platform uses hyper-local weather monitoring, agronomic data modeling and high-resolution weather simulations to help farmers predict crop yields. Data science is “agriculture’s next major growth frontier” and represents a potential opportunity of $20 billion beyond Monsanto ’s core focus, the company says. Monsanto and the Climate Corporation estimate the majority of farmers have an untapped yield opportunity of up to 30 bushels to 50 bushels in their corn fields, and they say that advancements in data science can help farmers achieve that additional value for the farm. The Climate Corporation will continue to offer its current risk-management products including an online service that provides crop planning, monitoring and recommendations, and crop insurance through its network of independent agents, the companies say. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of Monsanto’s 2014 fiscal year. The two companies’ combined capabilities will immediately expand both the near- and long-term growth opportunities of Monsanto’s Integrated Farming Systems platform and research and development pipeline in the coming years, Monsanto says. Longer-term, the acquisition will broaden the product choices available to farmers beyond Monsanto’s current row crop and vegetable portfolio, both inside and outside of the US, Monsanto says. This includes the delivery decision-support tools that could increase agriculture productivity on a billion planted acres around the globe, according to the company. In August, General Mills, Kraft Foods and Monsanto were among the first companies to join a project that aims to develop a comprehensive database for food and beverage life cycle assessments. Continue reading
South Africa Biofuels Seen Raising Sorghum Output Fivefold
By Tshepiso Mokhema – Oct 7, 2013 South Africa ’s plan to source all grain needed for biofuels production locally means sorghum output will have to climb at least fivefold, the nation’s biggest representative of commercial farmers said. Biofuel must comprise at least 5 percent of diesel and 2 percent to 10 percent of gasoline starting Oct. 1, 2015, Energy Minister Ben Martins said in a Sept. 30 Government Gazette. South Africa’s sorghum harvest probably increased 11 percent to 151,064 tons in the season that ended in April from a year earlier, the Pretoria-based Crop Estimates Committee said in its final forecast on Sept. 26. “We need an additional volume of 620,000 tons of sorghum to produce enough bioethanol to meet the 2 percent inclusion rate,” Wessel Lemmer, a senior economist at Grain South Africa, said in an e-mail. That would equate to output of about 771,000 metric tons. “The grains need to be produced locally, providing additional jobs in the value chain.” Forty-seven percent of South Africa’s sorghum, the country’s biggest summer crop after corn, soybean and sunflower seed, is grown in the Free State province, according to the committee. The grain is used as a staple food in some rural communities, livestock feed and to make traditional beer. “ Food security , in terms of availability or affordability, will not be impacted negatively,” Lemmer said. One ton of sorghum produces about 400 liters (106 gallons) to 440 liters of bioethanol, according to Lemmer. Competitive Prices Sorghum futures rose 1.5 percent to 3,350 rand ($333) a ton on Oct. 4 on the South African Futures Exchange, the highest since at least May 2010. They were unchanged by midday today. “The biofuels industry will be able to offer competitive prices for sorghum, enabling producers to plant a profitable crop,” said Lemmer. “This will incentivize producers to increase the production of sorghum.” In August last year, Grain SA estimated sorghum production would have to increase by 600,000 tons. The only available starch crop for bioethanol is sorghum, while for biodiesel soybean, sunflower seed and canola can be used, Lemmer. Corn, one of the country’s staple foods, has been excluded from bioethanol production, he said. To contact the reporter on this story: Tshepiso Mokhema in Johannesburg at tmokhema@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net Continue reading
